April 22, 2003 Feature Story
Bringing
Business Leaders to Utah State Students
 Thursday
afternoons have never been better for the best and brightest
business students of Utah State University. They are learning
how to succeed and get ahead in the business world, but not
from a textbook. Instead, some of Utah's most successful entrepreneurs
are acting as source material, sharing insight and advice on
what it takes to be a leader and find success.
It's all a part of the new Executive Leadership Seminar, taught
by professor Gaylen Chandler. To create the class, Caryn Beck-Dudley,
dean of the College of Business, and Alta Markeson, director
of development for the college, hand picked 20 top business
students to have an up-close, personal experience with outstanding
business leaders.
"We were looking for a way to expose our students to people
who have done significant things with their careers, as well
as exposing these people to our students," said Chandler.
"We want to develop contacts for our university, and this
is a great way to do it."
The two-hour class breaks away from the traditional classroom
format. Time is allotted for the speaker to tell their story,
have a question-and-answer session and then enjoy social time
on the ninth floor of the business building with Aggie Ice Cream.
This provides students an opportunity to shape the discussion
and ask in-depth questions.
"I strongly believe that we learn better from true stories,"
said Beck-Dudley. "Anyone could come and give advice on
leadership, but when they tell you stories about what they have
done and how they got to where they are, you remember it."
This semester's speakers have included Larry H. Miller, owner
of the Utah Jazz and Larry H. Miller auto dealerships; Shelli
Gardner, co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!, a company that
brought in more than $150 million in revenue last year; Richard
Nelson, president and COO of Larry H. Miller Dealerships; Merlin
Olsen, an actor, entrepreneur and former NFL player; John Miller,
president and CEO of Farmland National Beef Packing Company;
Kenneth Coleman, founder of ITM Software; Stan and Sandy Checketts,
owners of S&S Power; and Gary Stevenson, founder of Icon
Health and Fitness.
"Each speaker has been distinct and important in their
own unique way, offering different perspectives about what we
will be facing as we begin our careers," said Jon Carlston,
a student enrolled in the class. "The insights gained will
be invaluable to me throughout my career."
So far, executives have covered a broad range of topics including
starting a business, choosing a career path, succeeding in the
business world and learning from mistakes.
"Many of these speakers have done a lot of great things,
but most have made mistakes," said Charles Thompson, a
graduate student in the class. "You get to learn from their
mistakes about what works and what doesn't."
While students learn how to avoid mistakes, speakers also encourage
them to take chances and realize their potential.
"The overall goal of this class is to broaden horizons
and raise aspiration levels," said Chandler. "I think
we have a lot of students who are capable of far more than they
have ever aspired to do, and the stories shared by our speakers
help them think of ways to become better leaders."
Ben DeSpain, another member of the class, reinforced Chandler's
belief that guest speakers encourage and motivate the students
to reach their potential.
"I believe my chances for success in life, business and
other pursuits are a great deal higher than at the start of
the semester," DeSpain said. "The speakers have given
me great input to help me achieve my goals."
For more information about the executive leadership seminar,
contact Chandler at gaylen.chandler@usu.edu.
Contacts: Gaylen Chandler, (435) 797-2365
Wendy Littlejohn, (435) 797-2360
Writer: Miaken Christensen, (435) 797-1350
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